


"Through the time and centuries..."

by Regnard



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Male!Eivor, Romance, Size Difference
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:33:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29108622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Regnard/pseuds/Regnard
Summary: After assassination of Gorm Kjiotvesson, Eivor took the Apple of Eden with him. He wanted to get rid of it as quick as possible, but the heavy rain made him find a cover in a nearby cave. Sitting in front of a bonfire, observing the sphere attentively, he fell asleep and awakened in a strange place. It was a dark forest, unreal, artificial.The strange large man saved him from the atack of imortal wolfs.His face was strangely similar to the one man's face Eivor knew and admired. It was Basim's face.
Relationships: Eivor/Basim Ibn Ishaq, Eivor/Loki
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	1. "Deep into the rabbit hole"

Finally, after so much time, Eivor achieved what he wanted. Gorm lay dead, having become a food for worms and birds, stopped shaming the earth with covering it with his footprints. He was mad, possessed by shadows and ghosts that only he could see. Same as many of the Order's slaves, who fell from Eivor’s hand. Similar to Fulke, with her senseless muttering about gods and Ancients, who surely will save our poor souls. Their cryptic words meant nothing to the Viking, but still worried him. So many people being corrupted with lies of unrealizable dream. In fact – enslaved by those who wanted nothing but ruling the world. Afterwards, the lust of power brought them all to a painful death, to the cold halls of the Hel, where nothing except endless suffering matters.

Gorm, cursed son of the whore, left nothing behind him. Invisible almighty gods didn’t save him from death’s touch. Nobody will remember him, his name will be erased from all the sagas, like he never existed.

But something still reminded Eivor of this pathetic man: the glowing crystal sphere, that oozed strange energy, which made the Viking shiver. The artifact didn’t speak to him as it did to Gorm, but the redhead clearly felt its presents in his mind. It worried him a lot, and so he decided to get rid of the artifact as quickly as he could. These strange people that he met earlier might become the better keepers of this object of supernatural power than he.

When he left the cave, where the dig site, it was already raining heavily. Eivor wanted to reach the settlement before dusk, but, after a while, constantly slipping on wet stones, covered with mud, he finally decided that it would be better to find a place, where he would be able to wait out the storm. He found an empty cave nearby his location and quickly went inside, taking off his soaking wet shirt. In the far corner he managed to spot a firepit and some logs, left by someone, who has been here before Eivor. The Viking thanked gods for this gift and after some efforts made a small campfire, that was good enough to keep him warm for some time.

Eivor sat in front of the fire and felt a sudden urge to pull the sphere out of his leather bag and study it a little while he had nothing else to do. He placed it on his lap and started inspecting it with the tips of his fingers. The artifact was strangely warm, as if alive. This surprised the man and finally sparked his usual curiosity. The process of stroking the lines on the surface of a sphere pleasantly soothed him.

He was staring into the depth of the sphere for some time and missed the moment when his eyes unwittingly closed, and the calming stream of energy emitted by the artifact made him plunge into the depth of his mind.

The last of what he saw was the pulsating golden light under his eyelids and then darkness took him.

****

Eivor woke up in the soft odorous grass, wet from the dew. He opened his eyes slowly, feeling faintness, and saw the bright night sky, full of stars so unnaturally shiny, almost looked like they were made artificially. Lifting himself on his elbows, the redhead slightly frowned. He clearly remembered sitting in the cold cave back in Vinland. This view of the foreign forest, that came out of nowhere, puzzled the Viking. This place felt somehow familiar and alien at the same time. Like if he saw this picture in someone else’s mind. He tried to remember the source of this knowledge as hard as he could, but the memories rushed away like a water through the fingers. Feeling annoyed, the man straightened and started to look around. In front of him there was an endless forest, dark and silent. Something in its appearance worried Eivor. He tried to figure out what it was, and soon he realized: the nature around him looked unreal, every leaf and branch were too ideal to be natural. The Viking felt his guts flip in his stomach and then he took a sharp breath.

“I need to get out of here”, he thought quickly.

He wandered around the forest for some time, but the environment around him stayed unchanging. After passing a familiar group of trees once again, the sight of it made him feel sick. He realized, he could not escape this forest, no matter how he tried. Eivor was not the man, who could be easily scared, but at that moment he felt, how his heart started to race like mad. All of this felt like a sick dream, with the only difference that it was too real to be a figment of his imagination. 

Suddenly, he heard howling not far away from where he was located. The Viking tightened his jaw and stretched his hand back, about to grab his father’s axe, as he realized, that all this time he was unarmed. The blood immediately rushed from his face and for one short moment the man remembered the scene from his childhood. Fear got a grip on his heart, but he managed to quickly calm himself. The redhead immediately bent down to pick up a log to been able to protect himself with something. It still was better than nothing.

When the beasts came, with eyes glowing with an ominous light, Eivor was ready. He gripped the log tightly with his hand and took a defensive stance.

He fought back as brave as he could, but still, after some time, he realized, that these creatures, whatever they were, were not ordinary wolves. All of his attempts to resist them failed. His punches didn’t do any harm to them. The wolf circled around him, growling menacingly. Every second of this fight Eivor hoped that this is just a nightmare, and he will wake up any second from now.

Suddenly, one of the beasts jumped on him, pinning him to the ground. He tried to dodge, but the creature acted like it knew where he would move the next second. The redhead grabbed its jaws, trying to push them away from his face but felt that his strength fading. He growled with anger, struggling madly, not accepting the fact, that in a second he will die here, even without a weapon in his hand. His dreams of a heroic death, of Valhalla were vanishing before his eyes, and it filled him with rage. All the strength that he had he put into one kick to the wolf’s stomach. His leg went through the beast as it disappeared, turning into a million gleaming pieces.

With wide eyes Eivor pulled himself up, realizing, that the other beast also vanished like it was never there. The ginger man only managed to take a quick breath, feeling his blood pounding in his temples, as the tall figure in strange silvery clothes stepped in the meadow, illuminated with the pale moon. His shining helmet with glowing details hid the face from Eivor’s eyes. The figure tilted his head on one side, studying the Viking cautiously. The redhead stared at him intensively, waiting for him to speak. After a few seconds of silence, when it became clear that the stranger is not going to say a word, Eivor straightened and spoke:

“Who are you? What is this place?” he asked with an irritated and commanding voice.

In response, he heard a small noise, similar to a snort, and watched the stranger remove his helmet.

The man had long black wavy hair, which immediately felt on his shoulders. The lower part of his perfectly sculpted face was slightly covered in a bristle. And the eyes under the long, arched eyebrows were unnaturally grey and slightly shone in the dark.

Even from afar his face reminded the Viking of someone he knew for sure, and after a second, when the redhead realized that the stranger looked strangely similar to Basim, he felt goosebumps all over his skin and shuddered.

Eivor furrowed, trying to process, what this all could mean when the stranger’s low voice rang:

“It's bold for you to ask this, considering that it is you who invaded my simulation”, said the man with a smirk and narrowed his eyes.


	2. "Unexpected truth"

“It's bold for you to ask this, considering that it is you who invaded my simulation”, said the man with a smirk and narrowed his eyes. He crossed his arms on his chest, waiting for the redhead to respond.

Eivor parted his lips, preparing himself for the answer. He stepped closer, absorbing the sight of the dark-haired man’s features. The stranger definitely looked like Basim, but younger and without the usual tired expression in the eyes. The Viking took a few more steps and the moon light enveloped him, making him more visible. The stranger’s facial expression changed: a slight surprise made his eyebrows raise. Then with a few steps he crossed the distance between them and placed himself in front of Eivor, observing him from his heights. The Viking throw his head back, making eye contact with a large man, and the piercing gaze of the luminous eyes made the redhead shiver again.

“Who are you? How did you managed to get here?” finally the dark-hair man said impatiently.

“I asked you first”, Eivor replied with a stubborn expression on his face and tightened his lips.

“You are not allowed to ask while you’re here”, the stranger said with a growing irritation. “I need answers. Now”.

“You will get none. Until you tell me where I am and who are you”, the Viking told him harshly and crossed his arms on his chest.

They stared at each other intently for several seconds, the air between them started to heat from a tension. The stranger's gaze pinned Eivor in place, and his expression promised nothing good. The ginger man already saw this kind of glance from Basim, when he was in the middle of a fight. The same narrowed eyes and tightened lips. Eivor truly regretted that he didn’t have a weapon with him in case if this strange large man would like to punish him for his stubbornness.

At last, the stranger raised his eyebrows in a very Basim’s manner and muttered a few words in a language Eivor never heard before. However, from the tone of his voice the Viking could tell, that there were swear words. The large man closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Then he spoke:

“Alright. Let it be your way. You want a name? The name is Loki”, his voice was muted, but still full of irritation.

The flash of recognition sparked in Eivor’s head and then he remembered the features of the sly god from Havi’s memories. He tried to compare these two faces in his mind and came to the conclusion that somehow this person wasn’t the same he remembered: his eyes and haircut were different, his height was really impressive, and the glowing patterns, that covered his forehead and temples were definitely something unfamiliar to him.

“Loki”, the Viking repeated, tasting this name on his tongue. “I know of you. You are the god of Mischief. Never thought that it would be you who I see in my dreams”, the redhead added wonderingly.

“You are not dreaming, little human, we are in the simulation. Do you…you know what it is, right?” the Isu throw him a suspicious look. “And what does a “God” mean? Never heard this term before”.

“Gods are the ones who created us”, Eivor explained, “we are sending praises to them, when we are grateful for what they are doing for us and begging them for help when we are weak or desperate. They give us power and protection”.

Loki listened to him with a wicked smirk in the corner of his lips. When the Viking ended his explanations, the Isu smiled wider and asked with sarcasm:

“So, do they speak to you? Your Gods,” Eivor frowned from the tone of Loki’s voice, like he was taunting him. “I assure you, your creators never cared about you that much. You were created to be a tool, not children. Few of us treats you well, the majority only want to use you for their own benefit”.

Eivor gave the Isu a close look. He felt irritated and bewildered at the same time. He knew, he shouldn’t believe Loki, after all he was the god of deception, but something in his suddenly serious face made the Viking suggest that he wasn’t lying. Maybe this trust was caused by the fact that Loki’s face was similar to Basim’s. Eivor trusted Basim, he often caught his every word, his every glance. Now this hidden affection was messing with his head.

“How do you know all of it for sure?” the ginger broke the silence. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the most obvious and unpleasant answer.

“We were the ones who created you. You never knew?” told him Loki and tilted his head on one side. He caught a questionable look from the man in front of him, and this reaction puzzled him. “How is it possible you don’t know? You should have seen the ones like me at least once in your life”.

Eivor shook his head in confusion. He opened his mouth to say something back, but the stream of tormenting feelings made him speechless. All his beliefs, the understanding of the world – it all swayed like a blade of grass in the wind from one simple sentence. Grimacing on the unpleasant feeling inside his guts, the Viking sat on the ground. He wanted to believe he was dreaming, this thought would definitely calm him down, but the voice inside his head prompted him, that all of it somehow was real.

“So, there is no Valhalla? Nothing awaits us after death?” he uttered the question out loud, mostly talking to himself. The faces of his parents, fallen friends appeared before his eyes, making his jaws hardened. Eivor shook his head again, shutting his eyes. His mind just could not accept that he lost them forever.

Hearing the quiet sound of rustling grass, he opened his eyes again. The close view on Loki’s face made him shudder. He took a sharp breath, trying to calm his racing heart.

The Isu’s greyish eyes examined every little detail of Eivor’s face, but it felt as if he was looking straight into his soul. During these few seconds of observation, the Viking couldn’t take his eyes from Loki. He could never imagine seeing him that close. Not like this. In Havi’s memories the Hight One often stood close in front of the sly god, suppressing him with his presence. Loki always lowered his eyes in a sign of submission, and in these moments Eivor felt what Havi felt: satisfaction and smugness.

But now Loki looked straight. The eyes of the Isu concealed such a strange power, which the Viking could not describe. Probably that’s how an animal feels when they look into a human’s eyes.

“You really do look like Havi”, Loki suddenly spoke, frowning. He pulled his face even closer and Eivor swallowed hardly. “Your eyes are different. They are still full of power, but not the violent one. And the color is different. Reminds me of my homeland”. Then the Isu straightened and offered Eivor his hand to help him stand. “Come. I’ll show you something. And while we go you will tell me about yourself,” Loki noticed that the Viking wanted to start arguing, so he quickly added: “You'll do it my way, or you get the highway, and I hope you know which to choose”.

Eivor curved his lips. He wanted to be the one who control the situation, but he had no other choice right now. So, with a heavy sigh he grabbed the large hand that was offered to him and stood on his feet.


	3. "Ahead, through the woods"

From the very moment as they started to move together in the direction only Loki knew, Eivor began to notice the difference between the Isu and Basim. Firstly, Loki’s voice was a little bit lower and more energetic, while the assassin’s tone of voice was all soothing and silky. Also, the Isu’s gestures were more emotional, and, in general, the Viking could easily tell that Loki was much more impulsive and carefree than Basim.

Eivor tried hard to keep up with the Isu’s pace of walking, but after some time he got tired of it and asked Loki to slow down. The dark-haired man looked back at him with his usual smirk and said teasingly:

“Not my fault that you humans have such short legs”, he chuckled, watching Eivor frowning. However, he slowed down a little. “I could teleport us right to the spot, but I’m afraid your primitive mind would not overcome this”, he added thoughtfully.

“My mind would definitely not overcome another one of your dumb jokes”, answered the Viking with venom. “And if you want to reach the spot as soon as possible, I can give you a hint: make me bigger and I would be able to keep up. Surely such a “great mind” could do this easily”, Eivor ended with visible sarcasm.

Loki stopped and looked at the ginger man with narrowed eyes. Never before any human being were able to keep up with his sarcastic manner of talking. But this one not only kept himself with dignity, but he also showed his teeth back. It amused the Isu a lot.

“I could do that; in this you shouldn’t doubt. But I won’t. And you know why? Because there will be no fun in it”.

Eivor frowned further, clenching his fists. With each passing second the desire to punch this arrogant man in a face only raised, as same as the irritation inside his chest. The one thing that stopped him from starting a fight was the absence of a weapon. Surely, he could not defeat such an enemy with his bare hands. So, the redhead took a deep breath, remembering how Basim taught him to calm down and then he muttered to himself:

“What an asshole”.

“I heard it”, the Isu immediately answered him and made a hiss noise. “Watch your language, little one. You surely don’t want to upset your parents with your rude behavior”.

The ginger man gave Loki a long piercing gaze and then looked away. The memory of his long-gone family made him felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He tensed his brows, trying to banish the vision of his dead mother’s face out of his mind. The new discovery of Valhalla’s non-existence made this memory even more painful. At last, shaking his head, the redhead said quietly:

“They won’t be. You cannot upset the one who is long dead”.

The smirk on Loki’s lips immediately faded. He lowered his eyes in confusion and took a breath, choosing the words to say. Then he sighed and uttered:

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t…”, his facial expression was clearly showing how awkward he felt in this moment.

The Viking looked at him with a slight surprise. He didn’t actually expect that Loki truly could apologize. Maybe he didn’t forget how to do it. Maybe he wasn’t a complete ass after all. Smiling faintly, the ginger man shrugged and continued to walk.

“So, will you tell me your name? I could still call you “shorty”, but I doubt you would like it”, Loki said after a few minutes of silence, watching his companion from the corner of his eye.

Eivor slightly chuckled and turned his head towards the Isu, giving him a lopsided smile:

“My name is Eivor. And no, you cannot call me “shorty”, if you don’t want to be punched”, he added and smiled wider.

“I’m already trembling with fear”, the Isu immediately reacted on his remark with a fake frightened expression on his face. “But despite your truly horrific threats it might still risk trying, shorty”, Loki snorted and burst into laughter, when the Viking immediately punched him in a shoulder. “Auch, it actually hurts”.

“I told you, I will punish you for that”, answered Eivor with an arrogant smirk. Then he smiled softly. There was something in the way Loki’s face changed, when he was laughing like this, without his usual venom. Something, that made the Viking’s heart pound. He caught a playful expression in the Isu’s eyes and immediately felt how heat rushed to his face. Truly, the kind of feeling he had towards Basim will make a fool of him one day.

“What a fearsome little human you are”, Loki uttered at last, stopping laughing. His breath was still shaky. “However, you still didn’t tell me how you managed to appear here. You are really intriguing me”.

“You never told me where is "here"? I cannot answer you if I won't know what this place is. You said the word “simulation”. It means nothing to me”, Eivor shrugged. He noticed that the forest in front of him became less thick. Now he could easily see a great stone wall on the edge of the meadow. “I still think that I’m dreaming, that’s how unrealistic it all seems to me. But I doubt my mind would genuinely want me to observe your arrogant ass all night long”, the redhead added with a smirk.

“Arrogant ass? Is it a compliment? You are making me blush”, answered Loki with a sarcasm, “Simulation is not a real life, true. But still, it’s not a dream. All of it is a creation of mind. My mind, in this particular case. I created this myself, using my memories and skills”, the Isu made a gesture with his hand, “I could also enter this place in any moment, and I won't forget anything from what happened here when I leave”.

The Viking listened to him carefully, looking around. Everything started to made sense: this strange feeling of wrongness, artificiality.

“So, it’s all just an illusion”, he uttered at last”, and you can do whatever you want here?”

“Yes, Eivor. Nothing is real, everything is permitted”, Loki answered with a mysterious look in his eyes.

“And what awaits us behind these walls?” Eivor raised his eyes once again. The sun overhead was shining brightly; the redhead didn’t even notice when the night turned to day. Everything in this simulation was strange and too complicated for his understanding.

“I built a piece of my homeland there for myself. I stay there often when I want to indulge in my memories. It is fiercely beautiful despite of all the terrible thing that eventually led to its destruction”, the Isu uttered wistfully.

“I should like to see it, even if it’s just an illusion”, the ginger man said, vaguely remembering that he already had this kind of conversation.

“You could, if you wish”, Loki answered with words, similar to Basim’s, smiling with Basim's soft sad smile. “Come closer, I will open the gate”.

Eivor felt the air stuck in his throat. He swallowed hard, locking his gaze on Loki’s face. Observing his soft features, he recognized a familiar feeling in his stomach, the bitter-sweet one. Unfortunately, his mind chose this man as the one on whom he would pour out his feelings for Basim. The more time he spends with Isu, the more difficult it will be for Eivor to remain indifferent. He knew, that in near future it would definitely become a problem.

Then, the sudden blue flash on the corner of his vision distracted him from his thoughts. He turned his head to the wall and choked on his breath, being totally in shock from the view of a huge, mesmerizing gate, covered in glowing blue patterns and symbols. With a loud crack they opened and the view behind them was truly worthy of the gods.

“Welcome to Atlantis”, the Isu told him, his eyes were shining bright. Then with a sign of his hand he offered Eivor to follow him onward.


	4. "A place of miracles"

Eivor was speechless. He stood frozen, unable to make a move. The sight was so mesmerizing that he was afraid it would crumble before his eyes from his slightest move. He raised his head, inspecting the giant gate and patterns on it, and was thinking about a possibility of building such a breathtaking architecture. His mind tried to suggest a way it was built, but the only thing that came to his mind was magic. Unfortunately, his experience and the whole vision of the world didn’t give him another way to see things.

Loki patiently waited for him to overcome his shock, with a knowing smile on his lips. He was pleased from Viking’s reaction and so he didn’t rush him.

At last, the redhead took a quick breath and started to move. He walked under the gate’s arch, and its shadow covered him whole.

The ground under his feet was white polish marble, like everything else ahead. It shone from bright morning sun and was blinding Eivor. The man made a cover for his eyes with his palm and stepped on a long bridge, decorated with the different types of plants, the existence of which the man did not even know. The sky above was clear and beautifully blue. It reflected in a long wide canal, filled with water of an amazing azure color. From the close look on it Eivor suddenly remembered the remark, that Loki made earlier, about the way Viking’s eyes remind him of his homeland. Now it became clear, why he said that, and that sudden realization made the ginger man blush. He quickly turned around only to find Loki leaning against the nearest column with his attention fixed on Eivor. The Isu caught the man’s glance and smiled slightly, tilting his head on one side. Feeling his heart melt, the redhead smiled back. He then pushed himself from the fence he was leaning on and start to move ahead again.

Together they quickly reached the city area. Loki led Eivor into the concrete direction, slightly chuckling from his resentment. After assuring the one stubborn Viking that he surely will give him a tour later, the Isu finally being able to bring him to his workshop.

“Where are we?” the redhead asked, finally looking around after they reached the spot.

“It’s the place where I often work”, the Isu explained. Then he took a step towards the triangle doorframe, closed with a thick stone door.

“I see no way we can enter,” uttered Eivor with a suspicion in his voice. He came closer, observing the door, seeking for a doorhandle or a keyhole. Loki’s mocking gaze made him frown. “Surely, there is a way to get in, but you want to keep me wondering, don’t you?” The Viking said with a wry smile. “It was hidden by a spell?”

“I thought you already forgot everything about magic when I told you about simulation”, answered Loki with a snort and brought his palm closer towards the plate on the wall near the doorframe. It lit up with familiar blue light. “No magic, only tools of mind”, he added with a smirk. “You need to place your hand here, and the door will open. Do you want to try?”

From the mischievous expression of Isu’s face Eivor totally could tell, that this is some kind of trick, but still his curiosity won. He stretched himself up and with great effort reached the panel. It shone even brighter and then with quiet noise the stone door slid to the side, opening the entrance.

“It really worked”, spoke Eivor with a surprise and then looked in the Loki’s direction.

Isu looked totally bemused. He observed the door like he saw it for the first time in his life. Then he let out a long thoughtful hum. He made a gesture with his hands and immediately in front of him appeared the clusters of symbols. Under Eivor’s impressed and curios gaze he drove into the information the symbols gave him. He touched some of the icons with the tips of his fingers and a new information appeared. After a few minutes, when the Viking got tired of waiting, he asked:

“What’s that all about? Is something disturbing you?” The ginger man uttered, watching Isu made his hologram vanish. “I did what you asked me: I touched it and the door opened. So, what is wrong?”

“It shouldn’t open”, the Isu answered him quietly. “This door is programed to react only to Isu’s DNA. You are no Isu, as far as I could see. Or am I wrong?” Loki stepped closer to the Viking, looking him right into the eyes.

“Maybe your simulation is broken”, Eivor replied, feeling how his guts flip in his stomach from the unpleasant thoughts in the back of his mind.

“I checked it already”, Isu answered and leaned towards to the ginger man, placing his hand on the wall near the Viking’s head. The redhead threw his head back and swallowed nervously. “Maybe you should start to answer my questions? You know a lot more than you show me, _Eivor_ ”, the Isu lowered his voice. “How did you enter the simulation?”

“Step back”, the Viking told him, suddenly feeling insecure with a large figure, bending over him. Eivor put his hands on the man's stomach, trying to push him away, but it didn't do much. "Loki!" he added with irritation.

“How. Did you. Enter. The simulation?” The Isu repeated the question one more time with a cold tone. The redhead tried to push him away once more, but Loki grabbed his wrists with his one large hand and pinned them to the wall below Eivor’s head. The ginger man growled and tried to break free, but Loki held him tight in his iron grip.

“Let me go!” Eivor shouted angrily, breathing heavily through him nose.

“Answer the damn question!” in his turn the dark-haired man shouted. His gaze was dark and full of power, and for one second the Viking even prepared himself for a possible, surely painful punch.

“I don’t know!” the redhead answered, turning his head to the side with a grimace.

Loki caught his tensed expression and realized that he went too far with his want of knowledge. He relaxed his furrowed brows and stepped back, releasing Eivor’s wrists. The redhead immediately started to stretch them with a grimace on his face. The skin around the place, where Loki held him, became red and the trace of Isu’s hand remained visible.

“The last thing I remember I was sitting in the cave. It was raining, so I stayed there to wait out the storm. I had a crystal sphere with me, which I took from one bastard, whom I wanted to take revenge on. Probably I fell asleep, looking at it,” Eivor explained at last.

“The sphere? What did it looked like?” Loki asked, keeping his distance.

“Its surface was covered with traces and marks whose purpose I don't know. It strangely shone and I felt… felt like it wanted to interact with me somehow”, the Viking said uncertainly. Then he raised his eyes on Loki, still being incredulous towards him.

“It looked like this?” Loki asked and stretched his palm. Above it immediately appeared the hologram vision of the Apple of Eden.

“Yes”, uttered Eivor, stepping closer. He watched how the Isu's facial expression darkened. “What does it mean?”

“I don’t know”, the dark-haired man shook his head in confusion. “This thing is calling the Eden's Apple. It’s an instrument of power. Only Isu can use them, only they feel its power”, he began thoughtfully. “I wonder where this man, you were talking about, managed to get it? And the most important: why do you can interact with it? What make you so special?”

Eivor remembered the face of a god, that appeared in his dreams from time to time and suddenly felt the unpleasant sickening feeling inside him. Up to this point he thought that it was just a blessing of gods, the way to hear Odin, but the more he spent his time here, the more he questioned himself: can this be just a coincidence? Or all of it has deeper meaning?

“Come inside. I have a way to find out, who you truly are”, Loki told him and stepped aside to let Eivor enter the laboratory first.


	5. "An inner voice"

After they entered the room, Loki left Eivor wandering around by himself and began to seek the tools. He started inspecting his shelfs and drawers at first, looking for the medical devices, which may give him a closer look on Eivor’s DNA and mind. He also managed to watch the Viking from the corner of his eye, pleased with the effect his workshop has made on his companion.

The redhead was moving from one place to another, with his mouth half-open and with eyes full of pure rapture. He picked up some of Isu’s stuff, observing it close with curiosity, rotating it from one side to another. Then his gaze came across a strange statuette on a shelf, and the redhead took it carefully. It was a small figure of a wolf, no bigger than a palm. It was made of an unknown smooth material, and its eyes and some other parts of it were gleaming with beautiful hypnotizing light. Eivor brought it closer to the eyes, mesmerized by the view of little stars in its depths. He could not understand how it was possible to fit a little replica of a night sky in this tiny toy, and so he felt puzzled and dazed at once.

The sudden steps on his left made him shudder. He turned his head quickly and met Loki’s curious eyes. The Isu held the strange devises in his hands, the purpose of which Eivor didn’t know. A bad feeling about these objects and the way they would probably going to be used made the redhead curl his lips.

“What is all of it for? Are you hoping to try these instruments of torture on me?” Eivor asked with wry smirk. He put the figurine aside and turn himself fully to Loki. “I should warn you: I have not prepared myself for this kind of pastime when you asked me to follow you”.

“You have such a wild imagination, little human”, Loki chuckled in a low tune. “But, unfortunately for you, I’m not going to torture you. At least for now”, he added with a mischievous smile and made Eivor roll his eyes. “These are the tools which can help me understand your origins. It's nothing so horrible, I assume you”.

Then he showed the redhead a cylindrical instrument, made of white matte material. It had patterns and little buttons on it. The Viking inspected it with suspicion and then raised his eyes on Isu, with his brows lifted slightly.

“And what do you want me to do with this?” he asked and placed his hands on his waist.

“Put your finger inside”, Loki explained. “Please”, he added with pressure, noticing how the redhead raised his eyebrows even more.

“Sadly, I must refuse. I want my finger to be in place”, Eivor snorted. The dark gaze, that the Isu gave him, made him frown. “What, I just have to believe your word that it's safe? Don’t even dream about it”.

“Nothing is going to happened to you in a simulation”, Loki answered and rolled his eyes with a loud tired sigh. “Come on, don’t get me waiting”.

The Viking looked at him with an appraising glance, clinking his tongue with irritation, but, after all, he gave up in Isu’s mercy. He slowly placed his finger inside the strange object, tensing from a suspense. Loki pressed his thumb over one of the buttons, and then a tool made a quiet cliсk.

“Auch!” Eivor jerked back his hand and, with grimace, immediately started to inspect the small puncture that appeared on his finger. After realizing, that nothing bad will happened to him next, he raised his irritated gaze on Isu.

Loki gave him a satisfied grin and immediately plugged himself into inspecting a sample of Eivor’s blood. He connected the cylindric container with another of his tools, looking incredibly excited and interested. After a few seconds, the device made a quiet noise, which signaled Loki about an ending of the analysis.

The dark-haired man brought the tool closer to his face. His gaze quickly slid over the symbols on the screen of the device. The information that he reached, made the Isu completely speechless, only several short breaths escaped his half-open mouth. His gaze rushed through the text on a screen few more times before the man lowered his hands slowly, placing the medical instrument on the table.

“I don’t understand. I thought, it wasn't possible, considering that all of needed technology was destroyed”, he told himself, being totally confused. Loki made a few steps back and leaned his hips on the table. Then he raised his eyes and fixed his gaze on Eivor. The Viking was looking at him with a great worry. His Adam's apple jerked when he swallowed, trying to wet his suddenly dried mouth. “So, how were you made? And by whom?”

“Were made? What are you even talking about?” the deep anxious feeling inside him made the redhead rise his tone of voice. “I told you already, I had real human parents. A father and a mother.

“Were they really your parents? You sure of it?” asked Loki with caution after a second thought.

The air was stuck in Eivor’s throat when he took a sharp breath. Everything started to become too much for him. In other circumstances he would definitely laugh from this ridiculous question; but this day, _this dream_ , was deeply messing with his head and his feelings. Loki’s phrase contained poisonous doubts about Eivor’s most sacred things: his origins and his family. The doubts about his brightest memories of childhood filled him with despondency and awakened the rage inside his chest.

“Don't you dare tell me such things”, he spoke in a harsh tone, choking from anger. “Don’t you dare corrupt the memories of my parents _, trickster. Your venom tongue and twisted mind only capable for lies and curses”_.

In one moment Eivor starting to feel, how his consciousness swayed under someone’s inner pressure, foreign rage mixed with his own, making him speak in riddles, turning his voice into a snake’s hiss. His eyes were clouded by a bloody vail, and he began to realize, that something inside him is taking control over his body, hustle him away into the depth of his own mind. His head ached like mad, and pounding heart made his body feel weak. With all his mental strength he pushed this horrific essence back, returning the control over his own body.

With the clouded eyes he saw that Loki was going to reach to him, and he immediately stopped him from that move with a sign of his hand.

“I need air”, he hissed weakly, heading for the exit. Catching Isu’s alarmed look, Eivor added: “I want to be alone for some time. Don’t follow me”.

Directing his unsteady steps away from Loki’s workshop, he walked without thinking, and after some time the Viking found himself standing in an abandoned plaza. In the center of it was a big fountain. Eivor made a few steps towards it and with a heavy sigh set on its edge. His body was still trembling slightly, and the redhead tried to cool himself in the fountain. Eivor scooped up some water and instantly splashed it on his face. He kept repeating this until his clothes and hair became all soaked.

He was looking at his own reflection in the calm azure surface of the water and his thoughts were getting darker. He couldn’t confess even to himself that he was afraid; scared from all the new information, that fell on his head, from the way his mind and body suddenly started to act. Like he was losing himself, like something was trying to steal his body and abandon him in the darkest corners of his mind. It was terrifying, even for him. The thought that he could just disappear one day, and no one will ever know, made his blood cold in his veins.

Even after his awakening, when he'll realize that it was all just a nightmare, these corrupted thoughts would never leave his head. He knew this for sure: he would never be the same again. Fate mocked him by giving him this damn orb, clouding his mind with this twisted dream.

“I’m Eivor. Eivor Varinsson, from the Raven Clan. I don’t want to vanish. Not like this”, he was talking to himself but addressing his words to _the One-eyed man from his dreams._ “I won’t let you”.

The steps behind his back made him sigh. The redhead turned around on his seat, furrowing his brows. Only one person in this sick place could disturb him from his deep thoughts.

Loki was standing nearby, with the same worrying expression on his face.

“I told you not to follow me”, said Eivor in tired tone. His anger already began to dissolve, so at last he could clearly see the features of a man he truly cared about. Even if this face belonged to someone he had known for barely an hour.

“After what happened, you have gone without a word, left me wondering, if everything is alright with you”, Isu answered him quietly. His words seem to surprise the Viking. “I need your explanation. What was that? You sounded and acted differently. Did I really make you so mad with my words?”

Eivor sighed again. He was asking himself the same question: what was all of it? He looked at Loki, catching his worried and expectant gaze, and shook his head. Why was he so mad at him? Surely, the Isu told him things that shouldn’t be said, and he deserved this anger. But back at that moment, Eivor not only wanted to punch him, but he also wanted to kill him. Why would he want to do this?

The image of a pale, still Basim’s face and his blood on Eivor’s hands made the Viking feel sick.

Loki was still waiting for the redhead to respond. His whole body was tense, and his gaze was restless, trying to find in the expression of Eivor’s face at least something that would help him understand what happened.

“Forgive me”, the Viking spoke at last, rushing his wet hand over his face once again. “I don’t know what happened earlier. You surely pissed me off, but I really shouldn’t have been telling those words to you”, the ginger man explained. He was guessing, whether these curses came from his inner voice.

“I was trying to help”, answered the Isu apologetically. He stepped closer and set nearby.

“I know”, Eivor nodded. “I know”.

“He always wanted to be so useful, this little snake”, the quiet voice said, bubbling with irritation. The Viking frowned and silenced him.

“The DNA test showed me that you are half-Isu. It is impossible, but still – here you are”, Loki uttered carefully, watching Eivor’s reaction. The redhead frowned, as in pain, but said nothing, so the dark-haired man continued: “I knew that such experiments were carried out on humans, this was the biggest crime of the Isu in Atlantis. But all this is in the past now, everything has been destroyed with the city. So, I don't know, how it happened, that you…”

“Loki”, interrupted Eivor with a heavy sigh. “Stop. Please. I don’t think I can carry on. At least, not right now. I need time to think it over. Just…stay with me for a while. In silence”, the Viking said quietly, lowering his eyes. Oh, how he wished in this moment to appear in his settlement, to share the company of his beloved one. Basim's soothing voice alone could distract him from the bitter feeling inside his chest.

“Alright, Eivor. As you wish”, answered the Isu, and Eivor’s heart started to ache from the unrealizable desire of touching the owner of this voice, even if it would be a simple brush of their hands.

Repeating the name of his beloved again and again he closed his eyes and turned his full attention to the slight breathing on his right. Its soothing sound made him quickly fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'll add Angst and Hurt/Comfort tags considering what my story is turning into.


	6. "The voice in the dark"

He was dreaming, dreaming about an unending darkness, a place in the Grey, where he was all alone with his thoughts and mind. He tried to find an exit from this place, but the longer he walked, the bigger the Emptiness became. He tried to talk, tried to scream, but this wicked place took all sound from his mouth, all air from his lungs. Time stopped existing; seconds were passing like hours. Right before Eivor started to feel desperate for waking up, he finally saw something in a fog. It came closer and started to form into a human being. A human with Eivor’s face. The single eye on his face was looking right into Viking’s soul, staring coldly and unfriendly.

 _“Traitor”_ , the god said with his hissing voice, and the sound of it broke the silence like a snap of a whip. _“Fool. You are allowing your enemy to take roots in your mind so easily. I should have replaced you a long time ago”._

The man raised his spear and, before Eivor even managed to answer, threw it into his direction. Gungnir always hit without a miss, the redhead knew that for sure. He abandoned the idea of dodging it or running away and instead shielded himself with his hands, waiting for a painful strike. Right in that moment, when he began to feel how a sharp blade started to cut his flesh with appalling slowness, he abruptly woke up.

Eivor’s breath was convulsive and shaky, like if he was drowning earlier. Cold sweat, that covered his back with a sticky layer, made him shiver. The man lifted himself on his elbows, looking around. He hoped to appear in a cave in Vinland and being able to return home as quick as possible, but instead before his eyes still was the familiar Loki’s workshop. The Viking shook his head in confusion, trying to understand, why he was still here, and why the hell he was dreaming in a dream.

The Isu set not far from him and placed himself in a large armchair with his back turned to the couch, where Eivor laid. His attention was on his interaction with strange glowing figures, floating in the air. He touched them with his fingers, moving them from one place to another, rotating them. He bit his lip from time to time, making low thoughtful hums. Hearing Eivor move, he turned around and smiled slightly. His eyes were covered with odd glass plates, consisting of small golden triangles. Without his eyes' expression his smile looked more like a grin.

“You awoke at last”, he said, taking off this strange device from his face. “Good. You were panting all the time in a sleep. Did nightmares bother you?” Loki asked carefully, standing up from his seat.

“Something like that”, Eivor answered shortly, and then added his own question, which bothered him: “Why am I still here? Shouldn’t I wake up in Vinland already?” he said with irritation, stretching his shoulders after an uncomfortable sleep. “I don't belong here”.

“If it would be my decision, I would have sent you home long ago”, Loki uttered with surprisingly cold tone, his lips curled a little. He twitched his tensed brows and then set back to continue whatever he was doing behind his desk.

The Viking stared at his back for a second with slight bewilderment and then, looking around again, he spoke:

“I remember, I fell asleep outside your workshop. How did I manage to get here then? Magic, again?”

The Isu’s hands stopped for a second and then the man snorted slightly.

“Take this word away from your speech, for the Universe’s sake”, he said with a tired sigh. “There is no magic in this world. What you call magic is no more than a lack of knowledge”.

“Aha”, uttered Eivor and crossed his arms on his chest. “So, what about non-magic then?” he asked with a lopsided grin, chuckling, being pleased with himself.

Loki rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder, giving the ginger man a fake smile.

“I’m afraid, no magic this time, little one”, he said teasingly, “just my gentle hands”.

The Viking was puzzled from Isu’s answer. At first, he didn’t get what the man was talking about. But then he started to realize, and the picture, that flashed before his eyes, made him blush. He shook his head, trying to throw these thoughts away, but Loki’s low laugh made it harder to make.

“I could teleport you here, of course, but I was afraid, that you would wake up. You were so lovely, that I didn’t dare to disturb your dream”, the Isu said with a mischievous smile. He really enjoyed himself by teasing the redhead. “So, I brought you here in my arms”, Loki added, and his smile became wider, when he noticed how Eivor’s face became even redder. “Worry not, it wasn’t hard to carry you, since you’re so tiny”, he ran his eyes down the Viking’s gesture. The ginger man indeed was much smaller than the Isu. He hardly reached Loki's shoulder with his height.

Struggling with his embarrassment, the Viking mumbled something under his breath and began desperately seeking for anything that would help him to change the topic of the conversation. The Viking glanced at the table, where Isu’s tools laid, and asked quickly, ahead of another inappropriate comment from Loki:

“What are you working on? I still don’t get what you do with those shiny symbols”.

The Isu blinked few times after this sudden turn of conversation, but answered anyway:

“I was running through the data I got from your blood sample. It is not much, but still, something”, uttered Loki, turning his gaze from his desk to Eivor’s face. He waited for a non-verbal permission to carry this topic on. The Viking remained silent, so the dark-haired man continued his explanations: “As I said earlier, you have a blood of an Isu and the blood of a human. I cannot tell, how or who made it happen. I can only say that your blood partially matches Havi’s. It bothers me, considering that I have no idea how it can be possible. One thing is clear now, your visual similarity is not accidental. Perhaps, your presence here too”, Loki finished quietly, rubbing his chin in deep thought. He raised his eyes to Eivor, waiting for his response. The Viking’s facial expression made him suspect, that somehow the redhead was waiting for this information. He looked tormented with his thoughts, frowning hard, with almost physical pain expression on his face.

At last, after several long minutes, the ginger man finally spoke, his voice was low. He was afraid to say what he wanted out loud:

“Can you prove it?”

“It’s not much I can do here, in simulation”, Loki begun slowly, “but still I have one idea. You won’t like it, but it is all I can offer”, the man added.

“What is it?” Eivor reacted on his comment as his jaws tightened.

“I could enter your mind with my tool and try to find something useful”, Loki explained. As expected, the redhead looked at him with protest in his eyes. “There are two layers of consciousness in every person's head: consciousness itself and subconsciousness. You cannot control the second one, you won’t even know, what your mind is hiding from you there. I can reach this layer and receive some answers that both of us seek”.

Eivor listened to him carefully, with hesitation in his eyes. He shook his head and answered:

“Alright. I entrust myself to you, so don’t make me regret it”.

It took some time for Loki to prepare. Then he asked Eivor to lay on the couch and try to relax. The small golden triangles, that Loki held in his palm, he placed on the back of the Viking’s head, on his temples, and on the center of his forehead. The redhead watched his movement with visible anxiousness. He tried to hide it, but because of the fear of what would happen, all his attempts failed. The Isu was just finishing his preparations, as he caught Eivor’s worried look. The dark-haired man sighed slightly and placed his large hand over the Viking’s shoulder, trying to calm him with a soothing circular rubbing of his thumb. The redhead closed his eyes and smiled faintly on his touch.

“Don’t be afraid, Eivor, no physical harm will come to you from this”, Loki told him in a calming way. Then, before taking his hand off Eivor he brushed it over his chest. The ginger man couldn’t resist from following this touch with his whole body. “Try to relax, it will be easier for me to enter your mind then”.

“It’s better be my mind only”, Eivor commented with a quiet chuckle.

“And what are you thinking about?” Loki answered, and his own chuckle trembled in his chest. Then he put the half-mask on his face and a similar triangle tool on the back of his neck, right where the scull was attached to the spine. The Isu quietly hissed on the next unpleasant sensation and then leaned back in the chair he had prepared for himself earlier.

He closed his eyes and then the feeling came: the feeling of another restless mind next to his in his head. The solid darkness under his eyelids gave up to a sinister Gray space. Loki frowned, trying to find his way through the thick fog of Eivor’s mind, that covered his vision. Everything around him was still and silent. He looked around for a trace that would lead him to the Viking. Finally, a thin red thread appeared before his eyes, and Loki followed it, until he spotted Eivor’s silhouette. He rushed to him and was just about to touch him with his hand, as another person appeared from behind the ginger man’s shoulder. It was an old man in a blue cloak, whose hood cast a deep shadow over his face, making him unrecognizable.

This person, whoever it could be, radiated so much power and anger, that it made the Isu freeze right on the spot.

 _“So, you came,”_ the evil voice, full of venom, finally rang. _” You found the audacity to invade here, even after I told you I don’t want to see your face ever again. You, pathetic worm, entered my realm and you will be punished for this”._

Eivor shuddered from Havi’s voice and immediately tried to turn around. But then with a fright he realized that he cannot move even a little. His own voice was muted, and all he could do is watch. He caught Loki’s glance and tried to tell him with his eyes, that he should leave, right now, but Odin got ahead of him, teleporting to the Isu. The slap, that he gave Loki, made the dark-hair man lose his balance and fall to the ground. The brunet pulled his hand to his face. His cheek was already beginning to turn red. His wide-open eyes were full of shock when he realized that it was Havi who attacked him. He tried to straighten up, but Odin immediately pushed him to the ground with the blunt end of his spear.

“Havi, what are you doing?” Loki asked, his voice was full of confusion.

 _“I’m wiping your existence from this world”,_ the Aesir answered with a cruel grin, and then, after turning his spear in the air, he stabbed the lying man right into the shoulder. Loki made a choked cry of pain, and grabbed the wood of the spear, trying to get it out of his flesh. Odin just snorted and pushed harder, rotating his weapon slightly in the bleeding wound.

“You promised…pro...mised, you wouldn’t…hurt me”, Loki said with a shaky breath. The pain in his shoulder was taking all the words from him, making him go insane. The hot blood begun to spill under him.

 _“You broke the oath first, Oath-breaker”,_ Havi answered with a stiff facial expression. _“And don’t you dare talk to me about it after you brought your bastard child to Asgard and killed my son!”_

Eivor was watching this scene with horror in his eyes. He tried to move to help Loki and to shield him from Havi’s wrath, but Odin kept him still.

“I should break free from these chains. It is my mind, my body after all”, he told himself, tensing his muscles. Loki’s cries of pain and the iron smell of his blood was making Eivor sick. He put all his efforts to make his voice audible. At first, quietly, but then louder and louder he ordered Havi to let Loki go.

The God of Wisdom turned his head from his enemy and looked at Eivor with narrowed eyes.

 _“How dare you command me? You’re nothing without me. You are just a vessel for my mind and nothing more. A puppet in my hands. I gave you so much, my power, my wisdom, and you threw it away like a garbage. And for what? For your pathetic affection? For lust?”_ Havi laughed mockingly at him, watching Eivor’s facial expression darken. _“Is the need of being filled with this traitor’s seed the peak of your desires? I thought you were a warrior, not a whore”._

The Viking took a sharp breath through his nose, feeling how rage start to bumble inside his chest. He was still motionless, but his voice was clear and full of anger:

“You know nothing about me, or about him. You only care about yourself. You think I’m pathetic because my choice of a beloved one do not satisfy you, but it shouldn't be either. You’re nothing but a shadow of me, a quiet spiteful voice in my head. I never needed you, and I never will. You’re nothing more than an insane old man, without a body, without a purpose, abandoned and alone”.

Eivor managed to catch the pure hatred in Havi’s eyes before everything vanished around him and he found himself lying on the couch again. Loki’s eyes were so close, watching him with great worry.

“What a blessing that you woke up”, the Isu said with trembling voice. “Why didn’t you tell me that Havi’s sick clone lives in your head? And how in a world did this happen? Havi attacked me without a reason. I didn’t even understand what he was accusing me of”, the brunet blurted it out in one breath. “You should tell me everything, I’m serious. Otherwise, I won't help you further”.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve warned you. I just didn’t know how”, Eivor uttered with low voice and reached for the Isu’s shoulder, where the wound would be. Of course, there was no blood. “Are you well? You got hurt”.

“I'm well”, Loki shook his head slightly, "that was just an illusion. Nothing more. It’s all in our heads, remember?”, the dark-haired man told him, but the memory of being stabbed with a spear still made him grim. He then lowered his eyes, where the Viking’s hand lied, and it made him smile. “Thank you, anyway. For stepping in for me”, the Isu said after catching redhead’s questioning look.

“Everyone would do the same”, Eivor replied shyly.

“Not everyone. There is no one, who cares about me, Eivor”, Loki shook his head with wistful expression in his eyes. “I’ve lost everyone dear to me, and now I’m surrounded with the ones, who hate me just because of my origins. I made nothing bad, but still, I’m evil to them. An enemy even. I feel so insignificant, so powerless to do something. I’m trapped here, and all I have is this illusionary world, a fragment of my memory”.

The Viking listened to him, absorbing the sorrow of his words, and then unwittingly slide his hand higher, to place it on Isu’s cheek.

“Tell me how I can help you”, the ginger man asked quietly. His heart pounded from the tension between them. “I will do everything you ask me”.

Loki suddenly shuddered on these words and straitened himself with apologetic embarrassed smile.

“You already doing a lot”, he said, his voice was a little husky. “Rest now. Then we’ll talk”.

Eivor had nothing more to do but sigh and nod. He cursed for rushing things, but he was so deeply affected by this situation that he could not control himself and his hands particularly. The ginger man rolled over on his side, placed his hand under his head and started to watch how Loki works.


	7. "The conversation"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this day finaly came. I give this work a Mature rating. Why? Because I'm shameless.  
> No smut, only hot kissing and some spisy descriptions.

It was a long conversation. Loki hardly interrupted Eivor though his whole monologue, only to clarify some details with him. When the Viking’s voice trailed off at last, the Isu buried his face in his palms and made one tired sigh. Then he became quiet, and Eivor stood up to give him time to think it all over.

The redhead went back to the wolf statuette, took it in his hands and started to rub it slightly. The polish cold surface of a figurine distracted him from the dark thoughts. Eivor looked at the wolf’s face and the memory of a fight between him and Fenrir made him shiver. Oh, how he wished all this never happened, not to him, not to _them_.

Now, that Loki knew his whole destiny, how will he react? Will he consider Eivor as a murderer, a tyrant? Will he begin to collate Eivor with Odin and his crimes? It was frightening for the redhead to see, how the shining light of his beloved eyes turning into a dark abyss of hatred and pain. He closed his eyes for a second, and Loki’s angry face appeared under his eyelids. «Release him, or I will kill you”, the Isu said the last time they met personally. Eivor stabbed him, with these exact hands. Back then he believed, he did the right thing with punishing Loki. Havi’s wrath blinded him. But now, when his mind was clear from visions, from alien feelings, he saw only a lonely man with the burden of the world on his shoulders, unfortunate lover and father, who lost most of his children. His daughter was deceived, chained to a place so gloomy, that no living being ever wanted to stay there. His sons were taken away from him by a force of a man so selfish, it could drove anyone mad.

“So, this is what the Universe prepared for me?”, Loki said quietly at last, dropping his hands on the table. He then let out a bitter snort. ‘What a looser I am”.

With an ache in his chest, Eivor crossed the distance between them and sat in front of the Isu, not daring to touch his hands with his own. He wanted to calm Loki, to assure him, that they will fight the doom together and they will win, but then he remembered, how Havi tried to change his destiny and where it led him. To destruction and pain. This unpleasant thought made Eivor squeeze his fists.

“You could try to change something with all this knowledge”, the Viking said, looking at the Isu’s sorrowful face.

“You don’t understand”, Loki shook his head and raised his eyes from his tensed hands. “Time is not a straight road you follow, it has many variations, but all events are still connected. Past cause changes in a future, but so as the future can change the past. For me everything you said is still to happen, but for you it’s already a distant past. And because of what I learned from you today I will change my past for my future self, if there is any. It’s a cycle, that cannot be broken. Neither by me nor by you. It’s not in my power to change the fate of the world, to prevent the catastrophe, but I can prepare myself for it. No one can escape death, but now I have a slight chance for my family to be reborn in your new world”

Eivor looked at him with a puzzled expression. The Isu’s words were complicated and made little sense to him, but he was trying hard to understand. His tensed face made Loki chuckled sadly.

“I got it that you don’t understand me fully”, he said with a distant expression in his eyes. “After all, we created you like this. We took the ability of _seeing_ time from you. Every Isu can see the future clearly, can dig though the variation of what was and what will be. But for the human race it’s always a beginning and an end, a straight path. And you either follow it with blindness or struggle it with no reason”.

“You are confusing me a lot with your words, Loki. It’s too complicated to understand. At least for me. You sound like Basim. Or he sounds like you, I haven't decided yet. You both talk in riddles all the time, it makes my head ache”, the Viking uttered with a smirk. He started to wonder, was there a real connection between these two, like he had with Odin. It would explain a lot: the assassin’s mysterious behavior, his pursuit of knowledge. At last, it probably explained who this “Great Man”, who told Basim about stars and calculations was.

“Basim…who is he? You haven't mentioned him in your story”, the Isu suddenly asked, pooling Eivor from his thoughts. 

“Just a man I know”, the redhead replied with a sudden shyness. Obviously, he was embarrassed to discuss his fondness with someone, who looked right like his beloved one. Telling Loki about his feelings towards the Assassin would be akin to a confession. The thought in itself made him blush.

“Is he a friend of yours?” Loki continued to ask with barely noticeable knowing smile. “Or he can be someone more”.

“He’s only a friend!” Eivor replied so fast, that his true thoughts became clearly visible. The Isu’s chuckling made him realize how unwisely he exposed himself, and so the Viking quietly growled from shame. He looked away from Loki’s teasing face and quietly asked, trying to calm himself down a little: “How did you get that? It was so obvious?”

“It was. At least, for me”, the brunet replied with a soft but teasing tone. The Viking gave him a small, disturbed glance, and Loki explained: “It’s all in your eyes. They show everything that troubles you, may it be good or bad. From the first moment I met you I managed to notice your strange behavior: like if you met me before. You were still as stubborn as a mule”, the Isu made a titter when Eivor rolled his eyes”, but still I believe you could be harsher with me then you were. Moreover, after seeing me through Havi’s eyes, you should’ve been made some conclusion about my personality. And still, there is nothing, no dismissive attitude. So, I kept wondering, why you acted so strangely, as if you liked me. It turns out, you just love the other man. Is he similar to me like you similar to Havi?”

“He is. He has a short beard, and his eyes are as dark as a clear night, but still you two are very much alike”, Eivor said with a nod. The memory of Basim stretched the ginger man’s lips in a gentle smile. “But you behave and sound differently, that’s for sure”.

“And I was hoping that this is my shiny personality drove you insane”, Loki started to laugh when the redhead shot him an embarrassed look. “My eyes might not be like a night sky, but at least like a winter day. What will you say? Am I put it quite redly?” the Isu continued to tease the man in front of him with a playful grin. Under his gaze Eivor felt how heat washed over his entire body. He looked away once more, feeling his ears burning. He wanted to curse the God with all the dirty words he only knew, but his every sound threatened to reveal how dry his throat was.

“Will you quit making fun of me?” the Viking asked under his breath, tensing his brows. His voice sounded like a crackle tree, throwed into a fire. He still didn’t dare to take his eyes from the table, moreover, the warm sound of Loki’s laugh was making Eivor’s head spinning slightly. After cursing the Isu he started to curse himself for his weakness. What a dumb decision it was to give Loki information he could use against him. “Stop giggling for one damn moment!” he said finally, “Either you shut up yourself, or I will have to find a way to silence you myself”, he added angrily, thinking about all the horrible ways how he could punish Loki for his teasing.

“You may try”, the brunet replied with a wide smile, wiping his tears from the corners of his eyes. “I’m waiting for your propositions”.

The ginger man turned his head with frown on his face, ready for a fight, as he gone numb once more. He blinked a few times, trying to get rid of this sweet feeling that appeared in his chest and choked him from inside. It didn’t help much. The Viking then tighten his jaws and before the Isu managed to notice his intentions, straightened up and pushed himself forward. Eivor’s hand laid on the back of Loki’s neck, forcing him to bend over closer, and then the redhead pressed his lips firmly to the Isu’s mouth. The brunet made a surprised sound and froze under Eivor’s force.

At first, the Viking only wanted to quickly brush his mouth over Isu’s, to silence him that way, but the feeling of so wanted lips under his own drove him insane. He kissed the brunet harshly, like he was starving for this, and after a few seconds Loki truly began to realize what was going on and where does all this lead. He tried to move away, placing his hands gently on Eivor’s shoulders, but the ginger man followed his moves stubbornly, climbing on the table. A few trinkets fell over, making cracking noises, but it didn't bother the redhead much. He raised his other hand and began to stroke Isu’s silk black hair, his grip on the dark locks tightened with each passing moment.

“Eivor”, Loki managed to break the kiss for a second, his breath was heavy and shaky, “This is not a good id…”

The Viking didn’t give him a chance to end whatever he was going to say. He started to kiss him with a previous passion, torturing his lips with his teeth and tongue. At last, the Isu moaned slightly into the kiss, and this sound made the redhead twitched with a sudden pleasure. He felt like he was burning, releasing the force of the sun inside him, and he just couldn’t stop.

He moved back only to throw a glance on Isu’s blushed face, on his reddish lips, on his eyes, shining brightly like two stars. He had no idea how he is going to take Loki’s weird clothes off, or how they would do _that_ with their size difference; all he could care about is the torturing, almost painful feeling in his groin in that moment when the Isu lowered his eyes under his gaze, parting his lips slightly. This exact movement, that caused the smugness in Havi’s mind, turned Eivor on so much he could barely think.

He lowered his hands, stroking Isu’s face and neck, and sit on the table, immediately wrapping his legs around Loki’s waist. Eivor then pressed his body to the man in front of him, feeling all the curves of Isu’s muscular abdomen with his hard length through the thin layer of his trousers. He was so close to start rubbing his hips against the Isu’s tensed body only to give himself such a welcome relief. The thought of Loki’s big hand, stroking him harshly, made him moan in a low tune.

It was in that moment when he felt sudden weakness in his whole body and pulled himself back form the brunet. He laid on the table, shutting his eyes firmly. On the edge of his consciousness, he heard far sound of rain. Raindrops were drumming on the stone surface in a rhythm only they knew, and the crackling sound and warmth of a bonfire were clearer with each passing second. Starting to realize that the real world is trying to take him back into its embrace, Eivor pressed his eyelids firmer together, trying to plunge himself into the dream once more. All this time he wanted to come back to Vinland, but, of course, the fate chose the most unsuitable moment for this. The Viking madly wanted to see Loki once more, to feel his touch. He felt like now was the last time, the last try when he could enjoy the warmth of this body, hear the pleading sounds of this voice.

He found himself once again lying on the table with Isu’s posture above him. The brunet was looking at him with uncovered worry.

When the Viking opened his eyes, narrowing them in attempt to focus his glance on Loki’s face, the Isu sighed with relief.

“How many times do you intend to scare me?” the brunet asked, twitching his brow. “On one moment you almost disappeared from this simulation. Are you going to leave without a word?”, he added with slight chuckle. “Leave this thought, otherwise I will find you in your world and make you suffer”.

“It’s a threat, then? I would not dare to break up with you like that”, Eivor answered humorously and tried to lift himself with a heavy groan. “You said I disappeared? What could that mean? I heard raindrops and crackling of the wood. Like I was back in the real world again”.

“You probably almost woke up and begun to lose the connection with this simulation. I'm afraid you could vanish in any moment from now on", Loki replied with an unreadable expression.

"Shit. Not now", the ginger man sighed with annoyance. All his good mood dissappeared by itself.

"Shouldn’t you be happy? You wanted to return so badly”, Loki uttered with sarcasm and made the Viking frown. “Don’t look at me like that. You told it yourself, you don’t belong here. Don’t you remember?”

“I did, but things changed slightly from the last time I said it”, Eivor uttered with irritation, trying to guess what caused this sudden change of Loki’s mood. After their intimate moment everything became obvious enough. Unless the brunet wanted a proof in words. “I decided to stay here a little longer”.

“Why is that so?” the Isu crossed his hands on his chest. The fake ignorant expression on his face made the redhead roll his eyes. “What so important managed to happened?”

“You happened”, the ginger man answered angrily, and then fell silent, realizing what he just said. He, however, wondered, if Loki truly wanted to force him to confess. Through the sound of his ponding heart, he heard how Isu sighed. Loki’s expression softened.

The brunet shook his head and said:

“You are engaging, Eivor. Realy. And I did enjoyed your sudden gesture of affection, although I wasn't prepared for it. But we still love others. There is no need in filling their places with each other”, Loki looked at Eivor wistfully. “We both should just find courage to confess to them, not continue to deceive ourselves”.

“You are worthy enough yourself, Loki”, Eivor replied quietly but still gave up to the brunet's beliefs. “But you may be right. I should’ve never even started”.

The Isu answered with a soft smile and then headed to the exit. The redhead followed him with his questioning gaze.

“I promised you a tour of this place, didn’t I?” the brunet said with a mischievous smile. “I’m keeping my word. So, before you’ll disappear completely, I want to be able to show you this place closely”.

Struggling with a bitter taste in his mouth, the Viking made a fake smile and nodded.


	8. "The memories of long gone"

Eivor climbed off the table and before following the Isu through the doorway, he noticed the wolf figurine, that he took with him earlier, lying on the floor, thrown away during his previous actions. The redhead picked it up and started to inspect it to find out whether it was broken after the fall. The Viking left Loki’s workshop, still looking at the statuette closely. His movements took brunets attention, and Loki came closer, watching Eivor with interest.

“I found it in your workshop”, the ginger man said, catching the Isu’s glance at the figurine. “Looks really unique. Where did you get it from?”

“It was a gift from my parents”, Loki explained with sad tenderness in his calm voice. "They gave it to me long ago when I was a child. It doesn’t exist in the real life anymore, only as a copy in this place”.

“And where are they now, your parents?”, Eivor asked carefully, lowering his eyes on the statuette.

“They died”, the Isu replied with a sigh. “Like everyone else I knew”.

“But the woman who’ll give birth to your children, she is alive”, the redhead said, worried by the Isu’s hollow voice. He regretted asking such a question. Eivor more than everyone else understood how painful must be to lose one’s parents.

“She is”, the brunet nodded and a little smile brightened his face. “She was never tethered to Atlantis, so she was free to go when everyone else died”.

“And you? How did you manage to escape this dark fate?”

“I was here when everything happened. Sold as a guarantee of peace between our two kingdoms. I was told about everything after. It wasn’t a surprise, but still I wasn’t prepared. The only thing I regret now is the lost opportunity to see my parents for the last time”. Loki looked at Eivor and his sympathetic face made the Isu smile. “I shouldn’t burden you with my past. I never wanted to ruin the rest of your day like this. Throw this dark expression of yours away and come with me. There is a lot you should see”.

The Viking didn’t argue, only followed his companion in silence.

The first thing that caught Eivor’s attention was a sudden appearance of citizens. Earlier, when he walked here alone, he saw no one. And still, here they were, walking down the streets, chatting, doing their business. There were both adults and children, all as tall as Loki and even taller; the unclothed parts of their bodies were covered in glowing patterns of different colors. Instead of a weird tight-fitting suit they were dressed in no less strange dress-like clothes. Women mostly covered their legs while men preferred short clothes. The Viking looked at them with wide eyes, following them with his gaze. The citizens, however, didn’t pay much attention to Eivor and his staring, as he passed by. Probably the interaction with the “real” world wasn’t scripted in their code.

After several failed attempts to have a chat with someone, the redhead turned around and caught the Isu’s amused and delighted glance. Of course, it was him, who created these human beings, probably for an additional effect from the city. He was enjoying himself watching how Eivor wandered through the crowd, trying to make friends. The ginger man frowned on this guess and quit his attempts to interact with artificial humans. He then switched his full attention to the architecture. Loki walked from one building to another, telling Eivor its unique story. All the new information amazed the Viking, and he was just staring most of the time with his mouth opened. Sometimes he stepped closer to the buildings if he wanted to touch something particular or examine some of Isu’s technology. The ginger man was glad, that, since he was a half-Isu, he had the opportunity to test everything that piqued his interest. The lightning of the streets impressed him most. It turned on at his will and was making the city look incredibly mesmerizing. Loki even turned day into night to make the illumination pop better.

“What a strange and beautiful place”, Eivor said at last, observing holographic patterns on the buildings from his seat by the artificial waterfall. Its water was illuminated with such a skill it almost looked like a liquid rainbow.” Did it always look like this?” he asked, looking around once more. The view was making him speechless.

“No, only during celebrations. The city itself is beautiful, but with all this lighting, people on the streets, dressed for a special occasion…it turned into something special”, the Isu answered, and his voice slightly painted with sorrow. It was obvious, that he missed his homeland badly and the hopelessness of going back there was tearing him apart.

“And where are your clothes “for the special occasion”?” the Viking smiled slyly.

“I can change my appearance if you insist”, Loki replied with a smirk. Then his figure began to shimmer with many tiny triangle glitters. He appeared before Eivor’s eyes a few seconds later in a different outfit: more alike to the other Isu around him. His tight suit was replaced with a loose tunic, slung over one shoulder, covering left part of his chest. On his waist he wore a tight-fitting belt made from an azure velvet and metal, that reminded Eivor of old bronze with all the colors of red, green and cyan. In the center of this belt was a little silhouette of a flame, glowing with reddish light which looked like it was real. A long, velvet cyan-colored cloak hung on one of Isu’s shoulders and its corners were connected to bronze bracelets on his wrists. The glowing lines on Loki’s body formed into a breathtaking pattern. His palms and fingers, arms and shoulders, chest and back were covered with these patterns. Theirs flame-alike colors were making them look even more incredible.

Eivor held his breath for a moment, considering every detail of Loki’s new appearance. The flame patterns played with his imagination, making him think about how these lines spread under the Isu’s clothes. The ginger man licked his lips in a nervous gesture and said under his breath:

“Beautiful”.

Loki gave him a small smile with a shadow of embarrassment, and the Viking hastened to add:

“I mean, your dress is quite beautiful. Not every girl I met in my life could afford to wear such an expensive outfit, even for a wedding”, the redhead chuckled when the Isu curled his lips in annoyance.

“Very funny”, the brunet murmured, irritated, and stood up. “It’s not a dress, you, ignorant lout. It’s a tunic. Did nobody dress like this in your hopeless dark world?”

“I saw a man once, he wrapped himself in a cloth instead of proper clothes, but back then I just thought he was a little bit out of his mind. Now I see clearly where this idea came from”, Eivor replied and immediately burst out in laughter seeing Loki’s deeply offended facial expression. The Isu’s glowing eyes were trying to burn Viking down. “Come on, don’t be mad at me. Your dress is still pretty. Tunic, I mean”, the ginger man corrected himself and a new wave of laughter covered him whole.

Puffing angrily, the brunet turned around and started to walk down the street at a quick pace, without waiting for his companion to follow, and without saying a word to him.

“Loki!” Eivor shouted to his back, moving from the spot. “Don’t be mad at me, please”, he added, starting to run to keep up with the irritated Isu. “I’m sorry”, he tried once more with a shaky voice, feeling no more guilty than before. “I’m even ready to marry you, if you’ll come to a wedding in this outfit!” he chuckled shamelessly.

“I’m not going to marry you, you…!” Loki added some colorful curses in his native language. Even through his voice it was clear that he was blushing hard.

“Well, it’s a shame for you! It was a one-time offer!” The Viking shouted provocatively. Feeling his lungs began to ache from running, he said almost pleading: “Can you slow down a little? I cannot keep up with you, giants”.

“Then grow up and start to keep up”, Loki snorted and, on the contrary, started to walk faster.

The ginger man frowned slightly on this rude comment, but then he reminded himself, that he can do almost anything in this place, even become bigger. It took him a few attempts to grow in heights. The feeling was strange, like he become weightless for a second, but still no weirder than everything around here. With his new long legs, he caught up with Isu quickly. The redhead smiled smugly, showing Loki his newfound advantage in height. He, the man, who was always surrounded by people much taller than himself, internally rejoiced, looking at the brunet from his heights.

“Why are you suddenly taller than me?” Loki asked indignantly, tensing his arched brows.

“You told me to grow up, so I did”, Eivor replied with a cocky smirk.

“You shouldn’t be taller than me, this isn’t right”, the brunet couldn’t get over with this injustice.

“Well, it’s not for you to decide now”, the redhead said with a lopsided smile and lowered his head to the Isu’s face. “Is there a problem?”

“No problem”, Loki swallowed hard, lowering his eyes once more.

“Good”, Eivor said in a pleased tone, tilting his head on one side, trying to catch the Isu’s expression of the eyes. Their lips almost touched when he moved back and asked in a carefree tone: “So, where are we going now?’

“What?” Loki said with a hoarse voice, raising his head quickly. He was so distracted with Eivor’s actions that he didn’t understand what he was being asked. “Our destination?”

“Yes, the destination”, the Viking repeated, satisfied with the effect he produced on the man in front of him. It was obvious, that the brunet fell under his affection, but out of his principles chose not to show his feelings. Eivor understood the reasons, but still he couldn’t help but flirt with Loki every opportunity he had. Now everything was not only about his love to Basim. He was attracted to Loki too, attracted to his way of behaving, to his clever tongue. The Isu was different from the assassin but still as magnetic as Basim. They were like two parts of one whole, and Eivor selfishly wanted to possess them both.

“The destination is an observatory”, the Isu coughed awkwardly. “I can show you the stars there”.

“You must know that this phrase has two meanings”, Eivor said with a mocking grin, leaning firmly on the wall. “I welcome both of them”.

“I meant what I meant”, the brunet muttered with irritation and nodded forward. “Leave your annoying jokes and let’s go already”.

The Viking only laughed at him, feeling how joy bubbling in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small chapter, but still better than nothing(


	9. "The starry sky"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O-oh, this chapter has a mature content, so I warned you.

The observatory was not far away, so Eivor didn’t get bored from walking in silence. Loki didn’t say a word during their travel; probably, after becoming too annoyed with Viking’s silly comments, he decided that the best strategy would be saying nothing back until the redhead will leave him alone.

The building itself was huge, towering above the ground on no less than ten floors. Its façade was made from white polish stone and slightly shone from the reflected colorful city lights. From the very top of this tower under the thick glass plate fell a wide stream of a dark water. It was almost black, and inside of this moving mass existed an endless starry sky. When Loki and Eivor walked under this waterfall, the artificial splashes fell on their heads in a silver rain. 

Loki took Eivor through the halls, filled with the books and tablets, stacked along the enormous shelves, and stopped only when they reached a round room with a platform in the center. The Isu walked ahead, standing on it and inviting the Viking to join him. Looking around with excitement and daze, the redhead stopped in front of the brunet, looking into his face with a slight nervousness. His insides tightened on a guess of what would be next.

At first, the shape of the room began to sway, like a mirage in a hot day, until it’s almost vanished. Eivor tightened his jaws; the darkness reminded him of the way how Odin’s appearance was making everything around greyish and blank. He looked around, trying to see something in this dark place, but the only thing he could discern was a narrow round, where he and Loki stood. The ginger man gave the Isu questioning look, but the brunet only smiled mysteriously.

In a moment, the Viking noticed little glowing dots of different size and brightness, that starts to light up above him. Some of them were pale, some had colors: blue, red, yellow. Several groups of stars were closer to each other, connected with thin glowing treads. Their number continued to grow until Eivor being able to touch them just stretching his hand slightly. These little lights oddly radiated warmth, causing a pleasant feeling on a skin, when Eivor tried to catch them in his hands.

“Come”, Loki said and stepped from the circle into the darkness. The hem of his tunic disappeared in a black mist. “Do you trust me?”, the Isu asked with a smile, stretching his hand towards the redhead.

The brunet’s wavy hair slightly moved without any wind in a room, and the little shiny stars, that flew everywhere, were floating through his black locks, making him looks like a real god, ethereal creature from the myths. It was the first time Eivor really thought about who his companion was in general. After all, Loki still is a supreme humanoid being, wise and powerful. Humans feared him and used his name as a curse, but here he was, standing in front of Eivor, looking at him with his usual all-knowing smile, completely unlike himself from Havi’s memories. The redhead truly wanted to know, what caused such a change in Loki’s behavior. What dark and ugly events corrupted his mind, making him cruel and mad?

The Viking took the Isu’s hand, not daring to take his eyes off him and made a few steps forward. His breaths were short, while he walked around the room, absorbing the magical beauty around him.

When the polar lights appeared, the room filled with its cyan shining, pulling the shapes of columns, that held a ceiling out of the darkness. Eivor gasped and came closer, touching the light with his fingers. It swayed from his touch alike the ripples in the water. The Viking saw such lights in the sky before, their mesmerizing forms, glowing on the dark canvas of the night, but never before so up close, feeling it on his skin, almost hearing the “music”, resonating through the air. Father told him once, that this was the path the dead were carried to Valhalla, and Eivor believed it back then. He believed in it even now, stunned by the creation of gods. Of one concrete god, to be more precise.

“Your eyes look like the Northern Light”, Loki’s sudden voice drew the Viking’s attention. The redhead turned his head from the blinding blue light only to meet the icy gray shine of Isu’s eyes.

The man was standing by one of the columns, left Eivor enjoying by himself all the mesmerizing views he created for him. The space around the brunet was filled with colorful clouds. They floated around him, enveloping him with a magic mist, created by his hands, stemming from the fingers with shining flame ring-alike patterns on them. The Viking wanted to kiss these hands, this ink-black hair with tangled sky in it. He crossed the distance between them and placed himself in front of the Isu, looking at him with gaze full of unspoken feelings. 

“Don’t you want to enjoy the views I created for you?” Loki asked, locking his gaze with Eivor’s. “They are truly beautiful, and I haven't shown you the planets yet”.

“The only beautiful sight I can think about now is you”, the Viking said sincerely. He took one of the brunet’s locks with his fingers and covered the tip of it with his lips. This sensual gesture made the Isu took a sharp breath and look away with a tormenting expression on his face. 

“I told you, my heart is already taken. I love Alethea and our fates are already determined. So, I cannot give you what you want. You should direct your tenderness on the one you truly love. You may see him in me, but it nothing more than an illusion of your mind”, Loki’s voice was bitter and heavy with emotions. 

“It’s not him I’m looking on right now. It’s you”, Eivor answered, tensing his brows slightly. “I love him, it’s true, but still, I cannot take my eyes off you. I might never be the master of your heart, but it is not the heart, I want. Allow me to feel your skin on mine, your lips, the heat of your gaze and the pleasure of your voice”, the ginger man almost pleaded, caressing Isu’s neck with the tips of his fingers. This touch made the brunet shiver with pleasure. “This might be the last time I see you, Loki. I have one and only chance”, the Viking continued, lowering his hand. 

He put his thumb on the Isu’s hardened nipple and started to rub it gently, scratching it with his nail from time to time. Loki made a choked gasp and closed his eyes firmly, squeezing the fabric of his clothes with his tensed fingers. He should’ve pushed the Viking back and free himself from his influence, but the heat, that started to spread between his legs, was so sweet, that he couldn’t resist. When Eivor occupied his other nipple with his free hand, caressing it through the thin fabric of a tunic, the Isu pressed his lips together, suppressing small sounds, that threatened to escape his closed mouth. He leaned firmer on the column, feeling his knees are weakening. Viking's ghostly breath on his neck made the Isu start panting hard. His already hardened length was slightly twitching, desperately seeking for a relieving touch.

“I know you want me too”, the Viking said in a low voice near Loki’s ear with a slight chuckle, squeezing Isu’s nipple once more, running his thumb over the tip of it. This touch forced the brunet to let aloud a chocked moan. “I can feel it, I can see it”, the redhead moved back slightly, lowering his gaze to the place, where Loki’s tunic stretched from his cock. “You didn't wear anything underneath, did you?” Eivor asked teasingly, catching Isu’s embarrassed glance. “It’s almost an invitation, I must say”.

Loki opened his mouth to answer, but the Viking got ahead of him, stepping back. With pleased and cocky smile on his lips Eivor watched the result of his manipulations. The Isu was a one big mess: with his red face, half-closed eyes and parted lips, aroused and almost pleading for Eivor’s touch. _Beautiful_. 

“Eivor”, the Isu started, his voice cracked from the heat, that took his body and mind. “Please…”

“Please what?” the Viking asked mockingly with a lopsided grin. “Please, go away" or "please, continue?”

The ginger man already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from Loki personally.

The Isu looked at him with a heavy, hungry gaze, tensing his jaws. He was dying from the desire, but still, he couldn’t just ask Eivor for pleasing him, he was too stubborn and too proud to beg. Viking waited for some time, watching the Isu closely with an uncovered lust, but then, realizing that the brunet won’t say a word, made a short laugh and pressed the man to the column, kissing him hard and hungry. With a slight pressure on Isu’s jaws the redhead forced him to open his mouth and immediately filled it with his tongue. Then Eivor roughly grabbed the skirt of Loki's tunic and began to pull it up, caressing the man's shapes with his persistent fingers.

“Hold it for me”, said the Viking with a hoarse voice, shoving the brunet his crumpled skirt.

Then he pressed his lips to Loki’s once more and tightened his fingers around Isu’s cock in a firm grip. The brunet’s length was wet and slick enough for Eivor to immediately began his harsh strokes. The sudden pleasure made Loki moan into the Viking’s mouth; Eivor’s touch was sending his whole body on fire, covering his sight with white flickers. Loki’s legs barely holt him from falling, so he grabbed the man’s shoulder, trying to steady himself. After some time, when the Isu began to involuntarily thrust into Eivor’s fist and his moans started to sound more like sobs, he realized that it was not long before he would collapse.

Loki’s body tensed, fingers started to convulsively squeeze the fabric of the Viking’s shirt, when he felt something burst inside him, filling him whole with hot, breathtaking sensation, that almost took his consciousness away. With each Eivor’s rough strokes on his cock he moaned helplessly, forgetting all his shame and proud. He thrown his head back, pressing it to the cold stone surface, choking on his breath, when the last waves of pleasure ran through his body with a slight tremor in his limbs. Then the Isu sighed heavily from a relief and opened his brightly shining eyes, looking into Eivor’s complacent face. The Viking gave him a smirk and plunged two of his fingers into his mouth, licking off Loki’s seed. The Isu blinked at him, feeling his cheeks start to burn.

“Can you be more shameless than before?” the brunet said with a weak voice. Just overcoming the orgasm, he already begun to turn on again.

“You want me to tell you about my shameless or it would be better to show you?” Eivor answered provocatively. “And wasn't it you who gladly showed me your beautiful legs and everything between them just to feel my hands on you?” the Viking added with a teasing smile, looking down at Loki’s bare legs with the shining lines on his thighs.

Loki quickly let go his tunic, smoothing the fabric with nervous embarrassed gesture, that made Eivor laugh.

“Don’t you ever think that we’re done”, the Viking uttered with a sweet murmur, “I want you so badly that I would gladly take you right by this column. Would you like to make us something I can lay you on before I took my pants off?”

“We can teleport to my place”, Loki said, licking his lips. The thrill of pleasure run over his body once more.

“And loose an opportunity to make love under the stars?” Eivor chuckled slightly.

“So, you a romantic then? I didn’t get an opportunity to get that when you gave me such a rough hand job”, Loki replied with a grin and then pushed himself from the column. With a gesture of his hand a wide bed appeared on the place, where earlier the platform was. “Is it good enough? Or the barbarians like you prefer something else?” the Isu added mockingly, passing Eivor by.

The Viking grabbed him by his hand and pressed himself to his back, holding Loki gently under his chin. He then pushed brunet’s dark hair aside, pressed his lips to the curve of his neck and left the trace of wet kisses up to his ear.

“You could've just said that you like it to be slowly”, Eivor whispered, rubbing with his nose behind the man’s ear. He plunged his hand into the dark hair, starting to massage the skin of the Isu’s head with his fingertips. The brunet groaned slightly on his touch and thrown his head back to rest it on the redhead’s shoulder.

The ginger man pulled off the tunic from Loki’s shoulder, letting it fall into the crook of his arm and then places his hands on Isu’s waist, trying to understand how to get him out of his outfit.

“You need help?” Loki asked with a smirk in his voice and began to take off his belt. It quickly fell to his feet with a clinking sound. Then the brunet detached the corners of his cloak from bracelets and his tunic slipped off him, forming a bunch of folds on the floor.

Loki turned around with a provocative grin, delighted with Eivor’s hunger gaze on his body and asked with a fake discontent in his voice:

“You should probably take your clothes too. Or you just wanted me to strip for you?” the brunet arched his brow. He placed his hand on a waist, tilting his head to the side. He knew damn well he was attractive, and so he used this advantage to drove the Viking insane.

Without a word Eivor took off his shirt and threw it away. Then, loosen a lacing on his pants, he lifted Loki from the place, holding him tight under his thighs. He brought him to the bed and, laying him on the sheets with a quick hungry kiss, started to get rid of the last of his clothes. His groin already ached from the insane arousal, but he didn't want to rush things. The Viking just lowered his eyes, observing every little detail of Loki’s features. His tanned bronze skin stood out against the whiteness of the sheets. The patterns on it glowed even brighter, and Eivor felt a sudden and strong desire to stroke all the way down from the Isu’s chest to his thighs with his lips and tongue, following this shining path. The redhead swallowed hard on this thought. The jewelry on Loki's arms, the lacing of his sandals, wrapping his fit calves up to his knee – everything was making him looks like a forbidden fantasy.

“Are you just going to stare?” the Loki said shyly. He never exposed himself so much in front others, and never others looked at him with such a desire. The Isu were always more indifferent for the pleasures of flesh, fixing their whole attention on science. Humans, on the other hand, were far more passionate, and making love with them where a whole new experience. The brunet still couldn’t tell whether he was pleased or embarrassed with Eivor’s passionate attention.

“I might watch you please yourself with a great joy”, the ginger man said with a smirk, watching how Loki helplessly became red.

“You… _pervert_ ”, Loki chocked on his breath. The thought of him stroking himself in front of Eivor made his cock twitch with pleasure. The brunet closed his eyes and cursed heavily, placing his hand on his cock.

With a first few movements he let out a choked groan, spreading his wetness on the whole length, feeling himself intoxicated with all the emotions the redhead gave him with his shameless fantasies. He felt himself extremely dirty and desired at the same time, arching his back slightly from his own movements. The sudden sensation of Eivor’s fingers, caressing his thighs in an odd pattern, made him half-open his eyes. The redhead was bending over him, watching his every move, every change in his facial expression. Absorbing it with eyes so dark, as the stormy sea.

“Keep going”, Eivor whispered, and his slick finger slipped between Loki’s ass cheeks. He immediately began stroking Isu’s tense entrance in circular motion. “Relax, _my beautiful_. You need to trust me; I know what I’m doing”.

The Isu nodded and thrown his head back with another little moan. The feeling of foreign fingers inside him wasn’t all wrong. Quickly it became strangely satisfying, and Loki’s strokes helped him to focus on a pleasant sensation. First, slowly but then quicker Eivor started to stretch him with his fingers, leaning forward to cover Isu’s chest with wet kisses.

When Eivor entered him, Loki grabbed his loosen braid in his firm grip and groaned through the clenched teeth. The pace was horribly slow for preventing any pain, but the feeling of fullness was so great, that the brunet wrapped his legs around Eivor’s waist only to force him to move faster and deeper.

They were moving as one: Eivor, pressed to the Isu, panting into his hair, kissing it, whispering tender things into his ear and Loki, burying his face into the Viking’s neck curve, squeezing the flame-red locks with his trembling fingers. The brunet was telling himself, that Eivor will disappear soon, vanish from his life, and everything will become as usual; but with an ache in his chest, he knew: this night will remain in his memory as a stigma, like the scent of Eivor's body on his, and as the sound of his voice in Loki’s ears. Fixing his gaze on the way the Northern Lights reflected on the Viking’s pale skin, caressing his features, Loki unwittingly whispered Eivor’s name. It was almost inaudible, but still the ginger man lifted himself slightly only to look into the brunet’s eyes. His lips parted to let out a sound, but then the man just kissed the Isu with such tenderness, that Loki chocked on his breath. 

When he felt how the hot wetness filled him, flowing down his cheeks, it was the last drop, that thrown him over the edge, making him spoke Eivor’s name once more in on long desperate moan.

He knew that whatever this day will end, his heart will break at the moment Eivor will leave him, disappearing from this world and his life. Loki frowned from the sorrowful thoughts and wrapped his arms around the Viking tight, pressing his forehead to the man’s shoulder.

He knew, he couldn’t trust himself, but still he gave up under the power of emotions. He wanted to feel someone's love so badly, he let himself to forget about everything, plunging himself in a dream. And when you are taking too much, taking the thing, that never belonged to you, there will always be a reckoning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was the first time I wrote this kind of scene on English, so I'm not fully satisfied with the result. And the last time I wrote mature content was soo long ago, I've lost all my skills.  
> Anyway, that part wasn't redacted, so I'm sorry if there are any grammar mistakes.

**Author's Note:**

> A really strange pairing for the most of the fandom, but I promise, I'll make it work)


End file.
